Floranada Road intersection to re-open at end of March

Q: When will Floranada Road reopen at Northeast 13th Avenue in Oakland Park? It has been closed since Dec. 6.

Lee Sky

A: The intersection is scheduled to reopen at the end of March.

The city is installing a roundabout at the intersection as part of a traffic calming project on Floranada between Northeast 12th Terrace and Northeast 18th Avenue.

Contractors ran into "unforseen conditions" while working underground, which pushed back the re-opening of the intersection. The entire project is set to be completed in June, according to Oakland Park's website.

Q: A lot of LED or light emitting diode bulbs are out on many of the traffic signals in West Boca. Have traffic engineers noticed this?

A: One bulb is actually made up of several smaller bulbs that can and do burn out individually.

Palm Beach County Engineer's Office has a program in place to replace the bulbs — if a bulb is estimated to have lost 15 percent of its maximum output. Officials say there may be some signals they haven't gotten around to making replacements.

At one time, the county had five technicians to check all county-maintained signals at least twice a year. Today, there is one technician who inspects all bulbs, plus pedestrian buttons, timing, lights and detectors at least once a year. However, if the public reports a problem, those calls are checked almost immediately.

Q: In a 2009 column you wrote that metered public parking is free for the first four hours and that Miami International Airport was among the few public places that does not charge parking fees to people with a handicapped permit. What Florida statute outlines rules for handicapped parking? And do you know of any other places that offer free parking to people with handicapped parking permits?

Cristie Alfonso, Miami

A: The statute is 316.1964 — "Exemption of vehicles transporting certain persons who have disabilities from payment of parking fees and penalties."

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' website: "Anyone with a disabled parking permit who parks on the street at a turnstile meter will continue to park for free. However, there are new time restrictions; 4 hours maximum. The law also allows local municipalities to exceed the 4 hours maximum by local ordinance.

A spokesman at the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged says your best bet is to call ahead at the facility you plan to you park for information about parking fees.